Regional Round Robins

Regional Round Robins

The Regional Round Robin tournaments are a distinct addition to the university taekwondo events programme. The events offer localised competition in WT rules sparring and ITF rules sparring disciplines on a smaller scale (typically 1-2 courts per discipline) than a Series Championships.

With short match lengths, and utilising point stop (ITF rules sparring) and golden round (WT rules sparring) competition formats respectively, the tournaments occupy the athlete development space between test match training and competitive championships. They do not replace Championships Series events and no team points are awarded, rather they sit alongside the Series to offer an ideal introduction to taekwondo competition for beginners and a valuable regional training opportunity for seasoned student athletes.

Wales & Midlands

1st December 2018, Nottingham

Scotland & North

3rd March 2019, Edinburgh (TBC)

London & South

30th March 2019, Surrey (TBC)

Regional competition

The events provide local competitive opportunities, reducing the cost and travel time which is a particular barrier for novice athletes looking to gain experience beyond the two Series Championships which this cohort participates on average each year. The short round length and point stop / golden score format of the Regional Round Robins emphasises skill development, making the events an ideal compliment to single elimination championships.

The three regions

Regional Round Robins are hosted in three competition regions: Scotland & North, Wales & Midlands, and London & South. The events are not region locked and all athletes may enter all of the events, but if that region’s event becomes over-subscribed then first preference is given to entries from clubs located within the host region (see map).

Entry fees

Regional Round Robin tournament entry fees are only £7.50 per athlete (or £3 per athlete for Athlete Pass holders). We will be closely monitoring the uptake for these events and may move, modify or cancel events based on entry patterns.

Disciplines and eligibility

As with the Championships Series both ITF rules sparring and WT rules sparring disciplines are offered side by side, subject to entries. The team captain must submit their team’s entries by the deadline(s) indicated. Unlike for Championships Series team entries you will not receive an invoice, but simply pay through the online portal. The Regional Round Robins are open to all current student athletes and guest athletes (alumni and staff university club members).

Round-robin format

The tournaments are contested using a round robin format. Athletes enter A, B and C grade divisions and Olympic (WT rules) or Catch-weight (ITF rules) divisions as with a normal single elimination tournament, but will have multiple match-ups throughout the day with as many other athletes in their joined divisions as possible for a wide variety of opponents.

Running 2-3 courts over ~7 hours of competition, the events are smaller than Championships Series tournaments, with no team ranking points, individual medals or seeding points on the line, the focus is on meeting new rivals and gaining competition experience.

Point stop / Golden rounds

The disciplines are contested according to international federation rules for ITF rules sparring and WT rules sparring respectively, but with athletes contesting multiple separate rounds in sequence within a cumulative 2 minute match period. The winner is determined by best-of-x rounds (typically the first to win 3 rounds in a best of 5). Individual rounds are point-stop (ITF rules sparring) or golden round (WT rules sparring) rules with a short stop between rounds to reset scores and return to start positions. Points are recorded by corner judges for all divisions. Athletes must be awarded 1+ points (ITF rules sparring) or 2+ points (WT rules sparring) to win each round, and may lose by 1 deduction/ 3 warnings (ITF rules sparring) or 2 gam-jeoms (WT rules sparring) each round.

Rules and regulations

With the exception of the format changes listed here the tournaments are subject to all of the same rules and regulations, including volunteer judge requirements, as other BSTF events and tournaments. Regional Round Robin weight divisions are listed below:

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